Renée: “It’s a comedy, a farce, and I’ve become addicted to making people laugh. It all began when Alec Baldwin and I did a reading for a Carnegie Hall benefit. The idea grew.

“But we opera singers are used to strangling lyric sopranos dying from consumption. In theater, however, silences can be intimidating. I certainly can’t immediately do my first-ever play right on Broadway, so we tried it out of town.

“It’s been a challenge. You use a different part of the brain. Actor friends like Cherry Jones helped when I asked, ‘How’s this work . . . that work . . . ?’ Listen, I’m used to 3- to 4-hour long operas. Singing, my day job, is sometimes in little bits and pieces, like the Super Bowl in front of 110 million people.

“Mental preparation’s the key. You sense the worst until you feel fine. Visualize so nothing will be a surprise. Everyone struggles with stage fright. I’m consistently magnifying the fear factor. But we never did eight performances a week in opera.

“I have little speeches, and we all miss a word or two. Or go up in our lines. So everyone improvises. It’s a wonderfully small, well-amplified theater.

“I play a narcissistic, larger-than-life diva. Huge, pampered opera star. Stale marriage. He’s a mad Italian conductor. We have affairs. There are financial problems but, still, two butlers. A co-star’s a Pomeranian dog called Puccini. Since I carry her around, no one else is allowed to pet her.

“It’s a limited engagement because my next Met role is ‘Der Rosenkavalier.’”

When’s that?

“Two years from now.”

Great White ways

More Broadway. At “Doctor Zhivago’s” Saturday matinee a civilian, not an actor in Cossack bloomers, walked in front of the curtain and announced:

“This is a preview performance. We are still working things out. So, if something goes wrong, please understand you might see a train wreck.”

The Booth. Opening April 7. “Hand to God” is about a Christian puppet ministry in a small quiet, devout Texas town until handheld Tyrone gets mouthy. European countries banned such marionettes in 1642 because, masked, their comments became politically insensitive. May producer Kevin McCollum only look to play DC.

A fool and her crown

Mailing longtime premium patron Reggie about some discrepancy, the bank sent a number to call. An “executive” — in the Philippines — couldn’t adjudicate the problem and offered another number to call. This newest manager — in Costa Rica — didn’t understand the situation. Having now gone into his bank’s local branch, Reggie is currently seeking another financial institution.